Helicopter having folding rotor



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HELICOPTER HAVING FOLDING ROTOR Filed March 5, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet l im s \ INVENTOR. v

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HELICOPTER HAVING FOLDING ROTOR Filed March 5, `1945 v5 Sheets-Sheet 2 uw F am .Nvq hr,

ATI'DRNEYS July 29, E947 E. H. PAGE HELICOPTER HAVING FOLDING ROTOR Filed March 5, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 S Y E N R m A July 29, 1947. E. H. PAGE HELICOPTER HAVING FOLDING ROTOR Filed March 5, 1945 5 Sheets-'Sheet 4 .4 INVENT-OR. UMa/Waage,

Juny 29, 194?. y E. H. PAGE www@ HELICOPTER HAVING FOLDING OROTOR Filed March 5, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 95 INVENTOR.

- 5I Pegg? "-u. l E' ATTD R N EYS Patented Jul;r 29, 1947 UNITED STATES P'TNT FFIC HLICOPTER HAVING FOEDNG' KOTOR Edward Hf. Page, MiddleburghQ'. Y; lipplicatio'nI March; 1945; Seria-1""No". 5%;99??

2 claims.

Mypresent'Y invention, in its broad' aspect, has' toY do-withi improvements inia combined vehicle designed to function either asv anaircraft ora' ground vehicle andgwhichhas overhead propellers' capableroffbeing.extended or folded dependingonA ments-I. ,Thefuselaga-cabin or body of my` device isdesigned for `either air transportationor ground transportation; and? machine guns` and other armamentequipment may be conveniently opere ated fromthe cabin, and suitable means, convenient: to the operator, are provided` for steering andcontrolling-theisameeither inthe airor on the ground, and the device is fully streamlined;

. My.devicemay be used in takingoff orlanding onuaffhig'hway and inf-traversing` a highway` after the;manner of. an'` automobile and the" fuselage or; cabinpis: roomy;v convenient and' streamlined,

andi-When :notzin use, Y the z propellers are i folded back to be out of the way and so as not to interferez-withi the operation of` my device;u furthermore',1my:'device has four wheels-to' traverse a highwayor thek likeyand the frontwhcelsvare equipped :for steering' while thev rear. wheels are equipped fas driving: wheels, 1 and the" four. 'wheels give a four point landing contact-with suitable shock compensation devices when the device 'is used as an aircraft. The fuselage or cabinprovidesuniversal Visibili-tyifore, aft and to thesidesV andall controls are handy to the operator. Y

Other and equally important objects and advantages of my invention will loe-apparent from the. followingdescription and-drawings, but it isV to be understood that changes in form, size, shape, materials, and construction and arrangement of parts is permissibleY and within the -purview of mybroad'sinventive concept and the scope-of; the appended claims.

Iii-fthe drawingswherein I have illustrated: aV

preferred form o-ffmy invention:

Figurevlfis-a side View of `my device .with-the propeller blades folded back and-thedevice used z asiafground traversing vehicle;

I Figure 2 isa (longitudinal section vof l my.; device (ci. 2444-17) t, t

with the propeller blades extended to be used asv Figure 4T is ai sectionon the linev 4 4 of' Fig- 5 ure 2'5- Y Figure 5:i's'i` alsection ontheline: 5-f-5 of Fig uri-r2;

Figure 6 is a detail view of' one of the shock alisor-bing cylinders of the landingV andground 10 i wheelsjl Y *Figure-''isi a sectionon the line 'l-'I o'f Figure 6 :V Figure fisia section! on the lineY 8-8 ofA Figure 6i", u p

Fig-ureig is a ldetailofthel steering column; Figure l-O'fisfasect'ilu'fflori-the'lineV I--I of lig-V 111159;y

Figure? 11-` isa detaill ofthe propeller drive column/ Fig-rel-Zisiaf section onthe-lin'e l2|2`of Figur`11;

lli'g1'ire'- 1.3v is' a transverse" section throughthe prcpeller'moun'tsLand vshows 'the lockingl cowly for holdingthe propellerblades extended;

orspringilver and toothed disk;

Figureflisla detail 'of theblade locking cowl latch-:f:

lFigure 19f'isl an enlarged detail to/ show'the' manner-'fof-'latch-inglthe cowl;

Fig-ure?20fislafdetaillof the operation 'of the shift lever 'fori moving? the various *elements` of 40 device? into and fout' of' action;

Figure`2l` is a detail "showing the positionof the lever ,wi'thl theprop'ellersin action and drive Wlfeelsjin"` neutral;

Figure 22 is a detail showing the position of the lever fwithl .bothi the propellers fand drive wheels infin eutr'al; and` Figure 23is a detail showing the' position'of the lever with'tlie propellerout of 1 action andthe drive wheelsfoperative:

eren'ce-Jare used tovrzl'esignate like or similar parts throughout' the severalV views:

The-,numeral I designates the fuselage, cabin',

or "bo'dyof my device,'.which" has anv elongatedforwardextension 2,"or nose; suitably: rounded off Figure Mlist atransverse' sectionI through the In'lthe drawings; wherein like characters'of refas at 3 and streamlined, and a semi-cylindrical rear formation 4 leading into the tapered tail structure 5 on which is mounted the rear pusher propeller 6 and the rudders 1. Headlights 8 are provided on the nose, and the fuselage or cabin has a windshield 9, a rear window I0, doors II and side windows I2. The landing gear or traction elements include forward wheels I3 on the nose, and rear wheels I4 0n the rear of the body. The forward wheels are inclined forwardly and the rear wheels backwardly, and all wheels have streamlined housings I5 and wheel or mud guards I6 and riding lights l1. Suitable implements of armament, such as machine guns I8 project from the nose and the semi-cylindrical back` of the body, and a step I9 is provided for entering the fuselage. The vertical lift propellers are Acarried on a vertical standard 2l extending upwardly from the top, and a pilots or drivers seat 22 is conveniently mounted in the interior and may be supported fromthe floor 23.

Mounted on a base 24 attached to the floor 23 of the fuselage or body I is a radial motor 25 having a circular housing and exhaust 26 and cylinders 21. The motor has a vertical drive or stub shaft 28 extending up through the standard 2I and mounted in a bearing 29. The shaft has a beveled drive pinion 30. 1

In mesh with the pinion 3D is a driven pinion 3l on a shaft 32 leading to the transmission 33 which has a drive gear 34 on a shaft 35. The drive gear 34 is in mesh with a driven gear 36 ona shaft 31 leading to the differential 38 from which the rear wheel drive shaft 39 extends to drive the rear wheels through gears 48, chains 4I and gears42 on the stub axles 4,3 of wheels M see Figure 4. A shock cylinder 44 having levers 45 and links 46 connecting the same to rear axle journals 41 cushion the rear wheels and operating structure from shocks. A clutch assembly 48 on the shaft 31 is operated through rod 49 and handlever 58 to throw the rear wheels into and out of gear depending on' whether the device is to be used to traverse a, roadway or not, and a notched segment'5I engaged by the dog 52 holds the lever 58 Yin adjusted position.

Connected by a rod 53 also connected with the lever 58 above its-fulcrum 54 is a clutch 55 to the universally mounted drive shaft 56 'to the rear propeller shaft 51, which shaft is mounted in trussed steady bearings 58 and has an end bearing 59. Consequently, when the hand lever is thrown in one direction, the rear propeller is in gear with the motor, and when thrown in the other the rear wheels are in gear with the motor, depending in use on whether the, device is to be used as an airplane or to traverse a roadway after themanner of an automobile. The vtransmission may ybe thrown in or out by hand vlever 60.

The two forward machine guns I8 are pivotally mounted on shafts I8a in carriages I8b at each side of the operator, which shafts are engaged with the magazines 62, and slots 63 are provided for adjusting their aim.

To steer the Vfront wheels I3, I provide a radius rod 64 with links 65 to the steering column 66 of the steering wheel 61 adjacent the pilots seat 22.

Since the front and rear wheels I3 and I4 are used as landing gear when my device is used as an airplane, I provide cylinders 68 in housings I5 carrying springs 69 about the wheel axle .supe

wheels are normally extended, but may have linie ited cushioned upward movement against the tension of springs 69. Cylinders 68 have reduced vertical parts 12 with square bores 13 slidably supporting rods 18 and the radius rod is connected to the cylinders to steer the front wheels.

A clutch 14 on the vertical drive or stub shaft 28 is connected by link 15 and lever 'I6 to clutch shift handle 11 to connect the hollow vertical lift propeller drive shaft 18 with the motor 25. Mounted about the drive shaft 18 is a sleeve 18a formed with one element of a feathering cam 18', the other element 18o of which is formed on an operating member 18e. A lever 19 to turn the blades for feathering is carried by sleeve 18a. The propeller blades 88 are mounted on independent hubs 8| by angular arms 82 and the hubs are driven by shaft 18, but they may all be demounted 4and turned back to lie one above the other as shown in Figures 1 and 14 to be out of the way when the device is used to traverse a roadway. Whenextended to be used as an aircraft-as in Figures 2 and 13, a cowl 83 with slots 84 is fixed over the Shanks 85 of the blades to securely hold them in place, and a latch 86 is provided to hold the cowl Vin place. A shaft 81 on which are mounted gun operating and aiming levers 88 have handles 89+see Figure 4-for aiming the machine guns I8 from a. point convenient to the pilot. By turning the lever 19, the angle of the blade may be changed through element 18 engaging element 181),

Referring to Figures 20 to 23, when it is desired to operate my device as an airplane, the handle 50, to which are connected rods 49 and 53 operating clutch elements 48 and 55, is moved to the position I of Figure 20 which throws clutch 55 in, and clutch 48 out, and disconnects the drive wheels and connects the propeller for operation. Position 2 of Figure 20 for the handle 50 is the neutral/portion with both clutch 55 and 48 disconnected, and position 3 of Figure 20 for the handle disconnects clutch 55 and connects clutch 48 to the drive wheels I4, and disconnects the propeller.,

The lever 19 for feathering the propeller blades 80 is .essentially a spring lever and'ts in .slots or notches in the segmental rack 89 where it may be moved to various positions to change the angle of the blades through movement of the cam elements v18' and 18b.

. From the foregoing, itis believed that the operation and advantages of my invention will be apparent, but it is again emphasized that interpretation of the scope of my invention should'only be conclusive. when made 'v in the light of the subjoined claims.

I claim: Y Y Y l 1. A folding rotor for a combined .aircraft and ground vehicle having arfuselagaa standard projecting upwardly from saidv fuselage, a prime movermounted in thefuselage, a hollow driving shaft extending through said standard and driven by said prime mover through a stub shaftand clutch, comprising a plurality of radial arms, meansindependently mounting them for rotation upon said driving shaft, a propellerrblade rotatably mounted on each of said radialarms whereby said propeller blades may be Veither spaced equally about said driving shaft or be stacked into vertical alignment to lie oneabove the other, a cowl removably secured to said driving Vshaft and provided with a plurality ofV circumferen vtially spaced slots adapted'to yreceive-and xsaid propeller-.blades in equal spaced angular position from each other in respective slots of said cowl to be driven thereby as a vertical lift propeller for sustaining said fuselage off the ground or in stacked vertical aligned position within a single slot, and latch means for releasably holding said cowl against rotating movement relative to the driving shaft when said blades are in stacked vertical aligned position.

2. The structure of claim 1, and a sleeve extending concentrically with the driving shaft, manual means for angularly adjusting said sleeve, a plate slidably supported on the driving shaft and slidably and non-rotatively mounted in said standard, cam means on said plate and sleeve, respectively, whereby angular movement of said sleeve will cause said plate to move axially of the driving shaft, and radial arms extending EDWARD I-I. PAGE;

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,135,073 Gerhardt et al Nov. 1, 1938 2,103,881 Wagner Dec. 28, 1937 2,174,946 Ray et al. Oct. 3, 1939 

